Very Strange Case of Blood in Urine

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

Anybody have experience with occassional blood in the urine of a grey squirrel?

I admitted a 15 week old grey squirrel to prepare for release, and within a day of getting her, she had blood in her urine. The blood is not present every day, but every 3 days, I find a bloody area on the papers beneath her cage. She then has clear urine for another 2 days. On the third day, there's more blood. On the days where there is blood, she urinates a larger volume than usual.

I called my vet, who said bunnies can produce dark urine occasionally, and was not concerned about it. I put her on Trimeth just in case she had a UTI. I didn't see any blood for 7 days, so I transferred her to a friend to finish preparing for release. She now has blood in her urine again every couple of days. Additionally, the friend has a NR female that just started with blood in her urine. So whatever it is, it is apparently contagious.

My friend is having the urine tested tomorrow, and I sent a note to Dr. Pilny, but I am hoping somebody has seen this before.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Sounds like a blockage or kidney or bladder stones.

[CritterMom]

I can only tell you that I feed dozens and dozens of gray squirrels on my wooden deck, and at certain times of year, I have puddles of blood everywhere. I am not talking about pink-tinged pee, or colored from acorns; I mean it is deep red and looks like straight blood poured in small puddles in all the normal pee sites. I find myself wondering if it is an occasional sign of females in season or something like that...?

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

Sounds like a blockage or kidney or bladder stones.

That's actually what I thought, but now a different squirrel has the same symptoms. They act like they are not feeling very good the day before the bloody spot appears. I don't see how it could be contagious, though.


I can only tell you that I feed dozens and dozens of gray squirrels on my wooden deck, and at certain times of year, I have puddles of blood everywhere. I am not talking about pink-tinged pee, or colored from acorns; I mean it is deep red and looks like straight blood poured in small puddles in all the normal pee sites. I find myself wondering if it is an occasional sign of females in season or something like that...?

She's definitely too young at 15 weeks for it to be reproductive related.

[CritterMom]

That is kind of my point - I have no idea what causes it but it is way too frequent and there are way too many puddles for it to be mass UTIs or something.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

I see a dark dried reddish purple color pee from my wilds, there is a berry on a weed out in the woods I found, I think it comes from eating that.
Is there something red they could have eaten, are there garbage cans to get into in the neighborhood, we can only guess what these little guys get into sometimes

[pappy1264]

Stone is the first thing that comes to mind. Med will knock down the infection, but cannot get to the infection inside the stone and will begin to grow back. An ultrasound should show if there is one.

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

I see a dark dried reddish purple color pee from my wilds, there is a berry on a weed out in the woods I found, I think it comes from eating that.
Is there something red they could have eaten, are there garbage cans to get into in the neighborhood, we can only guess what these little guys get into sometimes

I thought that might be the case, but she was eating the exact same thing as another squirrel in the nursery, and the other squirrel had no blood in the urine.

Some interesting ideas so far. I think she needs to be scanned for a blockage, but I'm not sure how the second squirrel acquired a blockage, too.

In order that you can put face with the ailment, here she is chilling out.

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

The test showed she had a large volume of bacteria in her urine. The second squirrel had bacteria as well, but not as bad.

[Baxied]

ASG, she's a cutiepie!!! What are you doing for the bacteria and is that something that could be contagious hence the second squirrel's symptoms?

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Did they say HOW she could acquire this bacteria??
I know my Simon can get infections because of lack bladder control .
Can something they eat do this??
Do they have any physical issues?
Are they drinking enough water?

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

As of right now, the simultaneous issues seem to be coincidental. I'll post later if we find out otherwise.

It the issue returns after her ABX are done, then put her through the paces to find out what is causing it. There was not an obvious source.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

like I mentioned before..stones
they can cause bacteria infections too.
If it is recurring, this is very possible.
Stones can be from too much calcium in the diet because the body can only use so much.
It pools and builds up in the kidneys and bladder.
What is the diet you are giving them?

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

Yes, we'll scan her if it pops up again.

[Nancy in New York]

Could this be caused by something they both are eating or drinking?

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

Anything is possible NIN, but one thing to consider is that the NR squirrel has been in captivity, eating the same diet she has been for the last year.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Does shed drink out of a water bottle?
Make sure it is not clogged , so she doesn't get dehydrated and change the funnel every month or so, or if it is metal...boil it bacteria can be lurking any where.

[jo_schmoe]

like I mentioned before..stones
they can cause bacteria infections too.
If it is recurring, this is very possible.
Stones can be from too much calcium in the diet because the body can only use so much.
It pools and builds up in the kidneys and bladder.
What is the diet you are giving them?
Stones are normally caused not so much by having too much calcium...but poorly absorbed calcium. As a precaution...maybe boost up the magnesium and Vit D in her food. Mushrooms if she likes them...or even a supplement. All of my guys get a vit D supplement mixed in with calcium and magnesium.